Chương 124: If you want to participate, you should sign up yourself.

After traversing the Skycrown Mountains, the group finally arrived at the city of Ichiban, widely recognized as the most livable city in the Sinnoh region.

While the climate of Jiayuan City is indeed pleasant, when Lu Sha strolled side by side with the young lady on the street, he found that what was most charming about the place was the languid and comfortable atmosphere that had shed the heavy commercial atmosphere.

Compared to the bustling metropolis of Zhuqing City or the clanging mining scene of Black Gold City, time here seems to have slowed down.

Everywhere you look, you can see local residents cuddling with their Pokémon on their porches, quietly enjoying the breeze and basking in the warm afternoon sun. Soft laughter and cheerful voices can be heard from every street corner.

Lu Sha! Lu Sha! This place feels amazing, it would be so comfortable to live here!

Floating in mid-air, Diancie looked around with wide, curious eyes, clearly deeply touched by the welcoming atmosphere.

"Click! (It is said that this city was originally established because of the encounter between humans and Pokémon, and it is also the place where the bond between humans and Pokémon in the Sinnoh region was first formed.)" Lu Sha explained softly.

There are so many people here, and lots of people and Pokémon are performing on the street!

Tianxi stretched out her little hand and pointed to a street scene not far away.

A vibrant young girl was directing beautiful flowers to dance gracefully on the street, attracting passersby to stop and watch, and applauding continuously.

"Click! (Because of the Grand Contest, Ieyasu City is a well-known venue for hosting Grand Contests.)" At this point, Lu Sha secretly glanced at the young lady beside her.

"If you want to participate, then sign up."

Cattleya slightly raised her fair chin, her tone as cool as ever.

"Click! (Okay! I'll use your phone to register!)" Lu Sha chuckled mischievously, and under Tianxi's bewildered gaze, skillfully pulled out the young lady's phone, symbolically swiped the screen for two seconds, and then put it back untouched.

"Wait, is registering for the Grand Contest that easy?" Diancie asked, blinking her big eyes.

"Click! (Of course it's easy!)" Lu Sha's smile deepened.

How could it not be simple?

Because the young lady had already registered!

While resting at the Jiayuan Hotel, Lu Sha thought that since there was a grand competition the next day, he might as well take the young lady to experience the fun of coordinating the family.

As soon as he logged into the official website to submit Cattleya's information, a glaring notification popped up: [You have successfully registered. Please do not submit again.] Lu Sha was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses.

So this young lady was giving her name while taking a bath in the bathroom.

Right now, I'm just putting on a show of modesty for him.

"snort."

Cattleya seemed to notice Lu Sha's teasing gaze, a faint blush crossing her cheeks. She gave a soft hum and quickened her pace on her own.

These past few days of travel have made Cattleya more aware of her inner desires.

What she wanted was more than just the Sinnoh Champion title that Lu Sha had mentioned.

She longed to experience all aspects of life with Lu Sha, to walk hand in hand with him, and to explore every corner of the world.

"Hurry up, or we'll miss our appointment with Master Jiayuan."

"Click-clack! (Here it comes!)" Looking at that tall and charming figure, Lu Sha chuckled to himself, grabbed the bewildered Diancie, and strode after the young lady.

The young lady who used to find even daily social interactions at the academy troublesome suddenly becomes a hundred times more proactive once she embarks on a journey.

To put it bluntly, the young lady herself is not aloof; she just hadn't encountered anyone or anything that interested her before.

Jiayuan Dojo is located in a quiet area on the edge of the city.

Unlike the hardcore gyms in Black Gold City that require strong gym leaders to be on standby and ready to handle emergencies, the atmosphere here is purer, and the gyms' functions are more focused on instructing newcomers and issuing badges.

"Oh! Bonjour! Welcome to the Family Dojo, my dear Cattleya!"

As soon as we arrived in front of a unique European-style building, Melissa, the owner of Jiayuan Pavilion, greeted us with great enthusiasm.

She wore an extremely eye-catching and gorgeous dress, waving with a beaming smile, with a gentle and elegant woman standing beside her.

An intellectual woman around thirty years old.

Melissa's powerful voice instantly caused quite a stir on the street.

The locals of Home City may not be keen on battling, but there are quite a few trainers from other places who gather here.

It was already rare for a gym leader to personally come out to greet guests, but when everyone heard that she called out the name Cattleya, it caused an uproar among the crowd.

Cattleya's subtle psychological suggestion can blur the visual perception of passersby, but it cannot block out real, tangible sounds.

Despite the shocked gazes coming from all directions, Gadriya remained calm, simply raising her head slightly as she and Lu Sha walked gracefully through the crowd to stand before Melissa.

"Master Melissa, I've long admired your name. It would be my honor to spar with you."

Cattleya gave a polite slight bow, her demeanor and tone impeccable.

Incidentally, her gaze fell on the gentle woman beside Melissa. At first, she assumed that this was someone the curator needed to specially introduce, just like in Black Gold City.

However, Lu Sha's voice quietly rang out in the mental connection: That's Ayako, the top Coordinator in the Sinnoh region, and also a special guest judge for this Grand Contest. She's also the mother of Dawn, the female protagonist of the Sinnoh region in the anime... Lu Sha silently added in his mind.

However, the main characters in the anime are clearly out of sync with the current timeline.

To confirm this, Lu Sha had even checked the news at the hotel, being quite gossipy.

Ayako's daughter is only 12 years old this year, so it's still a long way from her journey.

"Ms. Ayako, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've seen your stunning performance at the Grand Prix in a video."

Cattleya readily complied, her politeness as smooth as silk.

"Oh, you're too kind. I never expected someone like you to still recognize me. I've been retired from the competition for over ten years." Upon hearing this, Ayako couldn't hide the happy smile on her face.

"I still remember your Umbreon very well."

This is not just a polite formality.

After hearing Lu Sha's prompt, Cattleya did indeed recall this scene from the depths of her memory.

As a child, she occasionally watched recordings of a few top-level glamorous competitions.

You know, she usually doesn't even bother to remember the facial features of those insignificant passersby, so for her to recall the Pokémon they used is already a very high compliment.

After exchanging pleasantries, the group turned and walked into the dojo.

Just as she was about to enter the dojo, Cattleya casually glanced at the crowd on her right.

There stood a boy whose face was filled with resentment and jealousy, with a fairly well-developed Gothic baby at his feet, staring intently at them.

It looks familiar, but I can't remember its name.

Lu Sha's shark-like eyes didn't even blink once, as if he hadn't seen anything at all. He walked past without pausing for a moment.

Neither Gadriya nor Lu Sha wasted even half a second of their attention on that boy.

In their eyes, this person was no different from those teenagers on the street who wore shorts and caught insects.

Guided by Melissa, the man and the shark entered the quiet gym.

"Gardelia, have you considered participating in the Grand Contest? Tomorrow's competition isn't the highest-level, but Ayako and I are both judges! We can totally arrange for you to be a special guest contestant!"

On the way to the battlefield, Melissa enthusiastically began promoting her wares.

"Thank you for your kindness, I have already registered," Cattleya replied calmly.

"That's fantastic! Tomorrow we'll finally get to see Cattleya on stage! Your beauty is even more dazzling than ours was in our youth. It would be a loss for the entire Sinnoh if you didn't perform on stage!" Melissa exclaimed excitedly, her eyes shining.

Since we met, the gym leader has mentioned "coordinator" and "stage" in two out of his three sentences, but hasn't said a word about the upcoming trainer battle.

"Assessment complete. This is a museum owner who doesn't do his job properly," Lu Sha thought to herself.

It doesn't matter, whether she's professional or not, as long as she can get the badge.

There are still 5 months until the Sinnoh Lily of the Valley Conference.

Lu Sha planned the most orthodox and classic route to the top for the young lady.

After the World Academy Cup, it's about time to officially launch our assault on the championship.

Since the league's inception, anyone wishing to claim the championship title must first obtain the right to challenge for the title and then defeat four current champions in a row in subsequent title matches.

Currently, there are only two main ways to obtain the qualification to take on the challenge: The first rule is to participate in the annual King of the Hill Challenge.

Any trainer registered with the League and considered a near-Elite Four member can apply. Those who make it into the top four will be eligible to challenge an Elite Four member.

If they win, they can not only directly replace the defeated king, but also embark on their path to becoming champions.

The second goal is to win the Lily of the Valley Tournament.

The champion of the Lily of the Valley Tournament also has the right to challenge the King of the Hill, which is considered a championship title challenge. However, almost all tournament champions are defeated by the first King of the Hill.

Lu Sha chose this second path for Cattleya.

The King of Kings Challenge is certainly a shortcut, but this year's challenge only ended two months ago. He doesn't have the patience to let the young lady waste 10 months waiting for the next one.

They will sweep the Lily of the Valley Tournament in the most dazzling way.

Led by Melissa, the group finally passed through the corridor and arrived at the spacious main battle arena of the Homebound Gym.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I couldn't help but say a few more words once we started talking about the Grand Contest."

Melissa turned around, her previously eager gaze instantly turning cold. She placed one hand on her hip, her deep purple dress reflecting a dark sheen under the arena lights: "So, my dear Cattleya, standing before you now is Melissa, the Ghost Gym Leader of Homestead City!"

"Alright, alright, the match is about to begin. Melissa, you're still such a show-off. I'll be your referee today."

Ayako smiled helplessly and gently nudged her friend beside her.

"Hehe, I'm just excited! Standing opposite me is none other than Cattleya herself! This is Iwasaki from Black Gold City, a super genius destined to become the Sinnoh Champion in the future, and she beat him to a pulp."

Melissa chuckled, lightly lifted her skirt, and walked towards the arena where the gym leader would be fighting.

Judging from her tone, it was clear that the news of Cattleya's crushing defeat at the Black Gold Gym had already spread among the Sinnoh Gym Leaders.